Sjef VAN DEN BERG: “I want to reach the top of archery”

Born on 14 April 1995, VAN DEN BERG competed in his first international event, the World Youth Championships, as a cadet in 2011. Since then, he has made three major podiums: individual silver medal at the 2012 World Indoor Junior Championships, current European senior team champion - and last weekend, his first world silverware at the senior level.

Sjef was a member of the Dutch team that won the silver medal at the World Archery Championships in Belek last weekend, the first recurve medal at this event in twenty years.

VAN DEN BERG, who hopped from Belek to the Netherlands to Wuxi in less than a week, is a favourite to win the men’s junior recurve title this week in China, where we spoke to him.

How have you progressed since your first international event, the World Youth Championships in 2011?
I think I’ve learned a lot, I’ve met different archers and learnt some things from them. I trained a lot and I feel better.

Tell us about that silver medal achievement in Belek?
I’m happy with it now, even though I wasn’t so happy when we lost the final. Things happen, and they happen for a reason. It was a good week, with a lot of wind. We defeated Korea in the semi-finals in the wind, and it was very exciting.

Is the young age of your senior team a factor?
I don’t think age is an advantage or a disadvantage. Age doesn’t really matter as long as you’re confident, shoot well and train a lot.

How did you discover archery?
My dad is an archer and I accompanied him to practice when I was 4 years old - and I liked it. I never left and I have never wanted to do another sport. I became serious about six or seven years later, after I won some matches at the local club. I like winning. I thought, ‘you have to train to be good’, so I just started training more, and it went well... and now I’m sitting here!

What is your training programme like?
Four days a week we stay at the Olympic Training Centre in Papendal. We shoot twice a day, and in the evening we do physical training (running or strength). We stay at home the rest of the time and at weekends, and train by ourselves. I live in Heeswijk-Dinther, about 45 minutes from Arnhem, where the Papendal Centre is located.

Besides archery, are you a student?
I am a design student, specialising in product developing and designing. I study in between training, for 2 or 3 hours a day. As an athlete I have a special programme that allows me to take time off school to travel to competitions. When I have to go to a World Championships or World Cups, I study harder the weeks before and work ahead of the programme, so I do not fall too far behind.

How do you see your future in the sport and outside of it?
I only see my future in the sport, I don’t imagine myself being out of it. I want to get even better and reach the top of archery. I want to be a full member of the Dutch team. Maybe I will work as a designer in archery, and design bows and accessories, but I don’t see myself having a design studio and not shoot. I haven’t found a very good design idea yet, and if I had, I wouldn’t tell it to anyone. It would be a secret!

Was your team victory at the European Championships the highlight of your career so far?
You could say that. It was our team's first big accomplishment. It also happened in windy conditions and in a fun week. It was very special to shoot there and win because of the home crowd. Every time we shot an OK arrow everyone went wild, which was really cool.

As a world senior medallist, how do you approach the World Youth Championships?
I approach it the same way: I have to shoot against myself and not against my opponents, I have to make sure I shoot good and shoot a lot of 10s. So it’s the same... my opponents are just a little younger.

How are the juniors and cadets of your country doing?
Pretty good. We have a really good education system for young archers. You start off by just training at the club, then the regional trainer comes along and picks talents for the regional team. Four small regions constitute one big region, like a state. They also train together, and then comes the Junior National Team that gathers to train at the Olympic Training Centre about three times a month. We have lots of regional and state training groups, and lots of talents to pick from! We have good archers and the coach is doing well... so we will see what this week brings.

Go to Sjef VAN DEN BERG’s biography and follow him on Twitter: @sjefvandenberg

Stay tuned on our webpage for news, photos and results live from the World Youth Championships in Wuxi.

World Archery Communication